dress cupped her breasts and showed just enough soft skin to make him want to bury his face between the smooth globes and slip his hands beneath the short hem to see if she wore panties.
But he was stronger than that. No woman would make him weak with wanting again. He kept his head these days. No more getting swept away by passion. Reason ruled.
He forced his attention back to his brother and practical matters. “If you’d made a spectacle of the wedding instead of secretly sneaking off, it would have been great PR for Honor. Romance While Filming the Romance, or some similar headline. The press would have eaten it up. You know you wasted that opportunity.”
Dev shrugged. “I know. But Valerie is an only child.You know what kind of production a traditional wedding would have turned into. Months of planning, too many trivial, irritating decisions…You know the drill. You did it.”
Max knew. Karen had been an only child, too. Their wedding had taken a year to plan, and there had been times when the process had spiraled so crazily out of control he’d wanted to say to hell with it and elope. By the time they’d walked down the aisle he’d been relieved to have it over with and not to have to make any more decisions about stupid stuff like the color of the napkins and the like.
“Besides,” Dev continued, “I didn’t want to deal with the paparazzi, and we don’t have time right now for all the cloak-and-dagger theatrics necessary to pull off a Hollywood wedding. Tents, helicopters, security.”
“Amen to that.”
“I preferred to close the deal as quickly as possible.”
“That’s it? Convenience? You weren’t swept away by passion?”
Dev exhaled a smoky plume. “You do remember who you’re talking to, don’t you?”
Funny, he’d expected more from his big brother. But he shouldn’t have. “Do you love her?”
“Like love worked so well for you.” And then Dev winced. “I’m sorry. That was a low blow.”
Love had worked for him. For a while. “Forget it. Did you at least get a prenup, so she won’t take us to the cleaners?”
“What? You think I’m stupid?”
“No. I’m just looking out for our assets.”
“While you’re covering Hudson assets, what have you found out about Dana and Doug Lewis?”
“Nothing yet. I’m working on it.”
“Any progress?”
He wasn’t about to share his strategy. “Some.”
“Let me know what you discover.”
“As soon as I know it myself.” And that meant he needed to turn up the heat and steam some information out of Dana.
And the desire to do so had nothing to do with how hot she looked tonight in that low-cut dress and those killer high heels.
Nothing whatsoever.
But damn, she looked amazing.
Good thing his hunger for her was temporary and could be turned off as soon as Honor hit the screen.
Otherwise, he’d be in trouble.
“The wedding announcement was a surprise,” Dana said from beside Max in the darkened car on the way home from the dinner party.
Max kept his eyes on the winding road. “Yes.”
“Did you know? Did Dev mention his plans at lunch?”
“No.”
He heard her sigh and then the rustle of her dress as she shifted on the seat. Her scent and each sound she made seemed amplified in the quiet confines of the dark car. But the lack of light also kept him from checking out her legs the way he had on the way over to Hudson Manor. He was damned lucky he hadn’t run them off the road.
How had he never noticed she had great legs before tonight?
“Does he realize what an amazing PR opportunity he missed? We could have had free airtime on every network and in a substantial number of magazines and web pages.”
That’s what he liked about Dana. Not only did she think like him, she reacted with logic rather than emotion. Karen had tended to go the opposite—He choked off that thought. He had to stop comparing the women. He’d promised Karen forever. The most he could offer Dana was for now, and then only because she might have the information he needed.
“He knew and he chose not to exercise that option.”
“We could still use it to create a buzz. It could be our slant on making Honor stand out from Willow’s film in case we can’t find out what theirs is about.”
She had a point—one too good to ignore. “I’ll ask Dev to talk to PR. What do you know about Willow’s film?”
He caught her sideways glance in the glare of an oncoming car’s headlights. “You could have asked me that the other night instead of accusing me of sharing information.”
She didn’t miss a beat at his abrupt change of subject. She never did. It was as if she could follow the convoluted twists of his mind. No one else had ever done that. And she was right. He could have asked, but wondering if she’d betrayed him combined with seeing her kiss Lewis had crushed any tact Max might have had.
“I apologize. I should have asked.”
“Doug said Willow’s film is a romance. He didn’t work on the project directly and hasn’t read the script, but from what he’s heard, there are quite a few similarities to Honor. I’m working on—” She stopped abruptly and turned to stare out the dark passenger window.
“You’re working on what?”
“Nothing,” she replied too hastily. “If I find out more, I’ll let you know.”
Dana was lying or holding something back. He wanted to know what and why. “When will you see Lewis again?”
Moments ticked past where the only sound was the car’s tires on the road. “I’m not sure. He’s on recce.”
“But you plan to see him when he returns.” He liked the idea even less now than he had before.
“Yes, Max. I’m going to see him. And you’re going to have to trust that I won’t share Hudson Pictures’s secrets. If you can’t trust me, then you need to fire me.”
Trust her.
He’d trusted her for five years. Why was doing so now suddenly so difficult? Because Hudson Pictures very likely had a leak, and all indicators pointed to Dana as the most likely source. She had the info, the opportunity and the connections.
But did she have the motive?
If so, he hadn’t yet figured out what it was. But until he knew for sure, he
